Obama and the looming Social Security crisis : Hope not enough

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Obama and the looming Social Security crisis : Where is Hope?

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How will the Hope mantra morph into an actual plan which is adjusted to the new facts,  and which really works?  

As the American population grows older and millions of the Baby Boom demographic "age into"  the Social Security program,  expaning the numbers of beneficiaries,  Obama is clearly concerned about federal spending.   He said so earlier last month,  in a televised press conference,  in which he spoke of healthcare reform,  social security,  Medicaid, and other federal programs.  In a recent piece about the SS crisis in  Newsmax.com ,  Obama was quoted as saying, 

And that is an understatement,  if one has studied the facts.  The Hope and Change rhetoric of Obama was sincere,  and realistic for a long-term plan;  however,  anyone who believed that Obama had instant solutions up his sleeve was deluded.   As Benjamin Franklin said,  "He who lives upon hope will die fasting."  Obama is too much the pragmatist to leave his supporters, and the nation,  in such a state.  His plan must include a realistic vision of reasonable scope.  An excellent article from Huffington Post,  from August 21,  complete with the full text of Obama's speech and Q & A session can help clarify:  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/21/obama-invokes-fdrs-battle_n_264791.html

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R - Alabama) who is a ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee has said that the situation is far worse than anyone knows,  and is quoted as saying the system could collapse within 2 years.   In a compelling blogpost of Aug. 22 on Red State,  a blogger went back to the campaign days and found this quote: 

Sometimes the crisis in federal programs,  taken together with the entire economic fiasco we are are faced with,  cause some to question if "it is time for America to become a Swedish-style welfare state.  On a conservative European blog, an analysis was done of Sweden's progressive transformation into a welfare state,  with this conclusion:

Surely the situation cannot be as simple as all that. Obama was a Harvard scholar;  a philosophical pragmatist,  and a robust progressive.  I cannot bring myself to believe that he is following some out -moded Swedish model,  one which nearly sank them a decade and a half ago.  No:   It is more likely that European conservatives would like to view him as a dolt.

Just because Sweden reversed its poition,  does not follow that the model it now follows is the correct one for us.  After all, the same argument can be turned on its head:  Sweden reversed itself;  ergo,  America should too,  moving in a more socialistic direction.   In any case,  this is a situation which will continue to call for commentary as it unfolds.